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JCPS to offer computer science courses as part of Louisville initiative to grow tech jobs

Louisville is launching an initiative, titled LouTechWorks, to increase the number of technology jobs in the area, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Monday.

Louisville has roughly 79% of the technology jobs it should for a city of its size. To get to 100%, the city needs to add nearly 1,500 technology jobs each year for four years — which is five times the growth the city has projected.

“To do that, we need to maximize our local tech talent pipeline and ensure people are getting the digital literacy and training they need to be competitive,” Fischer said.

As part of the LouTechWorks initiative, Jefferson County Public Schools will offer K-12 students courses to become digitally literate. According to Christy Rogers, JCPS assistant superintendent of transition readiness, all elementary schools will use code.org, a nonprofit organization that offers online programs to teach students computer science, and all middle school students will go through an applied digital skills curriculum.

“We want our students to be handed any device or any software platform and be agile enough to perform for our companies and our industries to meet the needs of our city,” Rogers said.

Additionally, six higher education institutions in the region — Bellarmine University, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Indiana University Southeast, Ivy Tech Community College, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville — have pledged to offer more technology courses and to attract more students to technology degree programs and certifications.

Ty Handy, president of Jefferson Community and Technical College, said knowledge of information technology is important in helping students adapt to entry-level positions.

“At the end of the day, this is really driven by employer needs, and connecting higher education institutions to employers is not as natural as it may seem. … We needed the city to step in and sort of mobilize (this connection),” Handy said.

LouTechWorks does not have a line item budget attached to it, according to Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, chief of Louisville Forward, the city’s economic development agency. However, she noted that supporting these initiatives across the state will be part of the conversation at the Kentucky budget session in 2020.

Fischer called on local businesses to participate in LouTechWorks through various ways, such as creating internship programs for students to learn on the job and hiring graduates of tech programs.

Here is a breakdown of what JCPS and the six regional higher education institutions are doing as part of LouTechWorks:

Jefferson County Public Schools

Elementary schools will use code.org through a $4 million grant with the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, if funded.

Middle school students will complete an applied digital skills curriculum.

High schools will establish career pathways and/or courses in tech-related subjects.